Colombia

Colombia is among the longest-standing democracies in Latin America, but one with a history of widespread violence and serious human rights abuses. Public institutions have demonstrated the capacity to check executive power, and the country’s main left-wing guerrilla group signed a peace accord in 2016. Nonetheless, Colombia faces enormous challenges in consolidating peace and guaranteeing political rights and civil liberties outside of major urban areas.

The [Washington] Post ... says, "But if Humala wins the decisive second-round election, to be held in May or early June, the United States' main ally in its eradication efforts—Colombia—will stand as a virtual island in the Andes, surrounded by countries with governments critical of Washington's policies. If continued breakdowns in cooperation occur in Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia or Ecuador, some U.S. officials say they fear that progress made to fight coca cultivation in Colombia could be undermined as production migrates across its borders."

Colombia, now in its fourth decade of civil war, was unstable long before Hugo Chavez even graduated to long pants. We are most likely a contributor to Colombia's instability, because we are pouring money, arms and military advisers into the country ... How much more insane can it be for courts in this country to routinely give celebrities a slap on the wrist for possession and use of cocaine while the U.S. government encourages a murderous, billion-dollar war in Colombia against the drug cartels? ... Just remember that when it comes to drugs, the corruption is here in America, not in Colombia.